The menace to public order in Danzig as a result of the policies of the present Nazi regime of the Free City, was discussed today by the Council of the League of Nations following a report submitted by the committee of jurists on the petitions presented by the Council at its last session by Jews, Catholics and other minorities in Danzig.
Acting as rapporteur for the committee, Capt. Anthony Eden, British diplomat, made special reference to the petition of the Jewish population of Danzig.
“I think that it is especially desirable to draw the attention of the Danzig Senate to the seriousness of the situation,” Capt. Eden said, pointing out the dire consequences that may result from the great activity of anti-Semitic elements of the Nazi Party in Danzig.
“Although the Danzig Senate emphasizes that not a single Jew has been killed or even seriously injured during the two years of Nazi rule in the Free City, the danger of disturbance of public order exists,” Eden emphasized. “I hope, therefore, that the
President of the Danzig Senate will give the Council formal assurances concerning measures that the Senate hopes to take in this respect.”
Eden also endorsed the opinion of the jurists’ committee, which reported last week that the Nazis have no right to exclude Jews from public office, and that “no election results can overrule the statutes of the Danzig constitution.”
The Council, after discussing the report, adopted the following resolution:
“The Council recommends that the Danzig Senate take the necessary measures to remedy the situation revealed by the petitions to the Council in conformity with the Danzig Constitution of which the League of Nations is guarantor. The Council requests the president of the Danzig Senate to submit to the High Commission at the next session of the Council a report of the action taken by the Danzig Senate in accordance with the Council’s recommendations.”
Speaking on the resolution, Sean Lester, the League’s High Commissioner for Danzig, pointed out that the Council’s decisions restore the guarantees of constitutional life in Danzig.
Concerning the general situation in Danzig, Lester states that certain members of the Danzig Senate have shown a hostility to constitutional principles. He appealed to Dr. Arthur Karl Greiser, president of the Danzig Senate, that the constitution of the Free City be carried out “in the letter as well as in the spirit.”
Premier Laval of France and Minister Josef Beck of Poland also supported the Council’s decisions and appealed to Greiser to see that they are carried out.
In reply Dr. Greiser promised that he would forward the Council’s proposals to the Danzig Senate.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
